Nemes Rush Group LLC Buys 220 Shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD)

Nemes Rush Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Steel Dynamics were worth $1,606,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Partners in Financial Planning purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics in the fourth quarter worth about $856,000. Allianz SE purchased a new stake in Steel Dynamics during the 4th quarter valued at $358,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Steel Dynamics by 1,400.0% in the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 450 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Steel Dynamics during the fourth quarter worth $498,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its position in Steel Dynamics by 63.4% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,354 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 2,854 shares during the last quarter. 82.41% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STLD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Steel Dynamics from $160.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Steel Dynamics in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $125.00 to $145.00 in a report on Friday, January 24th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Steel Dynamics from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Steel Dynamics from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $158.00 in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.67.

Insider Activity at Steel Dynamics

In other news, SVP Glenn Pushis sold 23,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.67, for a total value of $3,184,810.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 122,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,448,593.80. This represents a 16.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.30% of the company’s stock.

Steel Dynamics Price Performance

STLD opened at $125.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.34. Steel Dynamics, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.60 and a 12-month high of $155.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $128.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.90.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by ($0.33). Steel Dynamics had a return on equity of 17.32% and a net margin of 8.76%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Steel Dynamics, Inc. will post 9.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Steel Dynamics Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Steel Dynamics’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. Steel Dynamics’s payout ratio is 20.41%.

Steel Dynamics announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 7.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Steel Dynamics Profile

Steel Dynamics, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a steel producer and metal recycler in the United States. The Steel Operations segment offers hot rolled, cold rolled, and coated steel products; parallel flange beams and channel sections, flat bars, large unequal leg angles, and reinforcing steel bars, as well as standard strength carbon, intermediate alloy hardness, and premium grade rail products; engineered special-bar-quality products, merchant-bar-quality products, and other engineered round steel bars; channels, angles, flats, merchant rounds, and reinforcing steel bars; and specialty shapes and light structural steel products.